Cabinet to discuss extension of Monsoon Session and Women's Reservation Bill

The Union Cabinet may hold an important meeting on Wednesday, in which a final decision may be taken regarding the extension of the Monsoon Session of Parliament and its agenda. According to a report by Amar Ujala, the government is now looking at convening an extended sitting of the Monsoon Session. This decision may be taken specifically keeping in view the Constitutional Amendment Bill related to delimitation and women's reservation.

The specialty of the current Monsoon Session of Parliament is that it has not yet been prorogued despite 88 days having passed. Consequently, this session has established a new record as the longest session. Previously, the longest duration of 87 days was recorded in 2008, which has now been surpassed by this session. Generally, the Winter Session is held in the final week of November, but the government is now planning to convene an extended sitting of the Monsoon Session instead of a Winter Session.

According to government sources, a final decision on this matter will be taken in the potential Cabinet meeting to be held on Wednesday. A senior minister of the government has clarified that the primary objective of not proroguing the session is that the government is still exploring possibilities regarding the delimitation and women's reservation bills. The minister further stated that if the decision to prorogue is not taken this week, it is certain that an extended sitting of the Monsoon Session will be convened, although no final decision has been taken in this regard yet.

As per parliamentary procedure, if the session is not prorogued, the government can convene a sitting of Parliament by giving only 3 days' notice. However, once a session is prorogued, it is mandatory to give notice two weeks in advance to convene a sitting again. For these reasons, the government seeks to gain a strategic advantage by not proroguing the session.

According to the report, after not proroguing the Monsoon Session, the government became active on a war footing for delimitation and women's reservation. Government representatives held discussions with several other political parties, including the Akali Dal, DMK, and NCP (Sharad Pawar group) on this issue. However, after these efforts, this campaign suddenly slowed down. Nevertheless, new discussions have started again. Specifically, attention is being given to the discussions regarding the merger of both NCP factions and the possibilities of an alliance between the Akali Dal and BJP in Punjab.

The government intends to move forward on important issues such as women's reservation and delimitation based on these political equations. The upcoming Cabinet meeting will determine how much further this session of Parliament will be extended and which legislative proposals will be given priority. Obtaining the cooperation of opposition parties in this entire process will remain challenging for the government, but the government's preparations indicate that they are determined to get this bill passed.